


Only the Chosen left alive

by Shadadukal



Category: Sanctuary (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-27
Updated: 2010-12-27
Packaged: 2017-10-14 06:33:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/146403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadadukal/pseuds/Shadadukal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He's been coming and going in and out of her life for more than two centuries so, on New Year's Eve 2099, when she turns around in a crowded Parisian street and there he is, she isn't surprised.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Only the Chosen left alive

**Author's Note:**

> Set on 31 December 2099, Helen Magnus reflects on the past century.
> 
> This fic is for those who love both Helen/John and Helen/Nikola as ships. If like me you do, you probably know that it's difficult finding fics that do justice to both pairings. I hope I've achieved this with this fic. Amanda Tapping has said that, for Helen, John is the one and that he gives her the shiver. She's also said Helen loves and adores Nikola. IMO, there's no denying that both men love Helen too. I kept that in my mind when writing and I hope this fic will work for you.
> 
> Thanks for reading!

He's been coming and going in and out of her life for more than two centuries so, on New Year's Eve 2099, when she turns around in a crowded Parisian street and there he is, she isn't surprised.  
___________________________________________________________________

Helen Magnus has decided to celebrate the arrival of the year 2100 in Paris, walking through the crowd along the streets. Even amidst so many people partying, she can't help but reflect on the last century. More than the 20th, the 21st has cost her much.

Her beloved daughter Ashley, lost to the Cabal's experiments and then to her own courage. Shortly before, she had lost James, her rock throughout the 20th century, the second of the Five to die, but not the last.

Biggie, longer-lived than humans, still passed away in the 2040s.

The best protégé she has ever had, Will Zimmerman, died in 2060.

Thankfully, her surrogate son, Henry, due to his abnormality, is still alive, although he is now too old to transform in his beloved furred self.  
_________________________________________________________________

There has been joys and reliefs as well. Intensive work on her own blood has allowed her to give back immortality to Nikola. The smile that lighted his face when she told him would be forever engraved in her memory.

But he isn't invulnerable and there has been a few scares now and again. Once he showed up on her doorstep with a badly-infected wound that he hadn't taken care of properly. She berated him as she took care of him, but knew he wouldn't start being more careful. Another time, while chasing an abnormal together, he slipped on a rock and ended up with a serious head wound.

For the first half of the century, Nikola and John both regurlary turned up at her Sanctuary, like stray felines seeking shelter from the rain.

In 2046, John teleported in the Sanctuary, then promptly collapsed on the floor of her office, his body wracked with electrical spasms. She was immediately at his side, kneeling to put his head in her lap, then calling for Henry on the radio.

His power was wreaking havoc at the cellular level and the energy elemental inside him wasn't helping matters. Helen sent an urgent communiqué to Nikola asking him to come immediately.

Nikola arrived thirty-six hours later. Together, they sought to reduce John's seizures, to no avail. The energy elemental jumping from John into the electric system as it had once before took them by surprise. But the security measures Henry had put in place limited the damage and Nikola's swift reaction allowed them to trap the creature in an isolated containment field. Nikola then managed to devise a means of slowly killing the elemental. Henry was suitably impressed and whispered in awe that only Nikola Tesla could have found a way to kill energy.

After that, John's seizures improved but the cellular destruction continued, albeit at a slower rate. Helen spent weeks working on her blood and on Nikola's to find a cure but nothing could stop John's deterioration, which in all likelihood was a side effect of his teleporting ability. At long last, with Nikola's help, she managed to slow down the process further but it seemed doubtful that John would live for more than a couple of years. Nikola left when he finally decided he had done all he could to help. The morning of his departure, he silently exchanged a long look with John. Years later, she realized what it had meant. We detest each other but strangely you're still one of the best friends I've ever had. Back at you, old boy. Goodbye. Look after her when I'm gone.

After Nikola's departure, she didn't hesitate for long before renewing her relationship with John Druitt after approximately 150 years of shared heartbreak. There was nothing left to lose anymore. She had never stop loving him nor he her, and in the face of his impending death, all the excellent reasons why this was extremely unwise were shattered. During the years that followed, she left Will and Henry fully in charge of day-to-day operations at her Sanctuary so she could fully enjoy her time with John. Finally freed for good of the energy elemental, he grew steadily less haunted and more like the man she had first known at Oxford lifetimes ago. They spent their days resminiscing and conversing together. At nights, they shared all the passion and tenderness that bound them to each other.

In June of 2048, John passed away. At the funeral, she stood all in black near the casket, like a widow. A hand wrapped around hers mid-way through the service and she didn't need to look to know it was Nikola, who had stayed away from her Sanctuary throughout her involvement with John. Once the few people that had gathered for the funeral had left, and only Nikola remained with her, Helen turned around and stepped into his embrace, finally letting her tears fall against his shoulder. She still has no idea how long she stood there that day, crying in his arms. Later, she took him back to her room. He leaned back against the headboard amongst the pillows and she rested her head on his chest, no longer crying, just needing to be held. There were no unnecessary words. He understood. That day, she had buried the love of her life, the father of her only child.

Nikola stayed with her through the night, comforting her with his presence. The following morning, he left.

And life went on.  
_____________________________________________________________________

It was years before she saw Nikola again. In the mid-2050s, at a rather boring conference in Berlin. Fortunately, generous quantities of delicious German beer – and wine for Nikola – helped to alleviate the boredom. The next day, they woke up in bed together, half-naked, with very painful hangovers. They agreed that they must have passed out before anything serious could happen.

She kept on meeting Nikola throughout the following decades. Sometimes, they just encountered each other by chance, sometimes they made plans to meet, and on occasion they worked together on difficult cases.

In the early 2070s, a young Austrian woman, named Kirsten Graz, showed up on her doorstep bearing a letter of recommendation from Nikola Tesla.

 _'She's almost half a me in terms of intelligence. By society's standards, she's a brilliant medical researcher, a prodigy they call her.'_

She felt a surprising stab of jealousy as she wondered how Nikola had gotten to know this young woman. But Kirsten was indeed brilliant so Helen hired her as part of her staff. It also turned out that Kirsten was an abnormal and didn't need to sleep at all. Ever. She merely spent a few hours per week meditating. No wonder she was already a talented scientist at 20 years of age.

One of her most memorable encounters with Nikola was an unexpected one in Sydney. She was nearing the end of her inspection of the Sydney Sanctuary when she ran across him. Once her work was over, he took her sailing. They spent a pleasant afternoon steering the boat in concert. As they were sailing back toward the harbour, Nikola was knocked off the boat by a strong gust of wind. She was relieved when she saw him come back to the surface – he was always a strong swimmer – and couldn't help laughing at his flummoxed expression. He pouted ruefully.

"Would you help me?" he asked, coughing up some water.

Once he was safely back in the boat, she insisted he get out of his wet clothes and made him strip down to his underwear before handing him a survival blanket.

"Do you always have one of those things with you?" he asked while eyeing the offending item distastefully.

"Of course."

"It would work better if I were completely naked, wouldn't it?"

"You know very well it won't make a difference but take it all off by all means, it's nothing I haven't seen before."

"It's so hard to impress a woman of 230."

"Don't be bitter," she told him with a wink.

Nikola tried to cajole her into spending the night with him but she had some urgent business back in North America to attend to.  
_____________________________________________________________________

Nikola's been coming and going in and out of her life for more than two centuries so, on New Year's Eve 2099, when she turns around in a crowded Parisian street and there he is, she isn't surprised.

He smiles at her as if it's perfectly natural that he should be two feet behind her when they had no plans to meet.

She's so happy to see him that she kisses him passionately as soon as she reaches him.

"That is the most enthusiastic welcome I've ever gotten from you," he says his eyes twinkling with amusement.

"What are you doing here?"

"Welcoming the new year, what else?"

She eyes him suspiciously.

"I'm sure there's a lot more to it."

But she doesn't particularly care at this moment so she takes his hand and tugs him to a side street. When she looks back at him, she can tell he's about to say something she doesn't want to hear so she slants her free hand against his mouth and immediately feels his tongue reaching out to lick the inside of her palm. He has never been one to miss a beat.

"There are better ways to celebrate the New Year than waiting for fireworks in a crowd at the foot of the Eiffel Tower," she offers as an explanation.

Nikola mumbles something behind her hand. She removes her hand.

"Miss Magnus, are you inviting me back to your hotel room?"

"I believe I am, Mr. Tesla."

She takes him through narrow streets and he follows. She hasn't released his hand. They remain silent the whole way.

Her hotel is quite expensive and comfortable. But it is also a very well-kept secret. She has avoided booking at any of the most famous hotels to avoid running into any patrons of her Sanctuary. At her hotel, the lady in charge looks and acts like a benevolent grandmother.

In her room, they remove their outer layers of clothing and their shoes. She puts some music on and they dance to whatever comes on whether it's fast or slow, whether it requires more technique or complete improvisation. Most of the time Nikola leads but sometimes she does.

Finally, they collapse on the bed completely exhausted.

"We've missed midnight, " Nikola says after a glance at the alarm clock.

He rolls to his side and leans down towards her face.

"Happy new year, Helen," he tells her before closing the distance between their lips and kissing her passionately.

She wraps her arms around his back, one hand coming up to rake through his messy hair. He settles more fully on her, running his hand up her thigh. She follows his movement and wraps her leg around him, hugging him closer to her.

His mouth leaves a trail of kisses down her neck. He's sucking on her collarbone when she calls him.

"Nikola."

He doesn't respond and simply continues to move lower, his hand sneaking under her sweater.

"Nikola!"

He looks back up and raises an eyebrow at her.

"Something wrong?"

"Let's celebrate the arrival of the new century together."

"When 2101 comes around next year, bringing with it the 22nd century?"

She nods.

"Of course, we can meet up for that."

"No." He looks confused. "I want to be sure you'll be here for that and you might forget if you just wander off again."

He tilts his head at her, waiting for what comes next.

"Spend this year with me, Nikola."

It's not a request, nor a demand. She welcomed the arrival of both the 20th and the 21st century with James. She doesn't want to be alone for the turn to the 22nd.

She can see Nikola hesitating, unsure what it is she's asking. She isn't exactly sure herself. To live under the same roof as house mates or to live together for a year like a couple. If they start like the former, they may yet end up as the latter. She can't decide whether this is what she really desires.

"I love you," Nikola says suddenly, but with sincerity in his eyes.

Taken by surprise, she doesn't know how to respond to his declaration. He has never said it again since that time in Rome so long ago.

Nikola closes his eyes for a moment before locking gaze with her again.

"I'll stay with you for a year."

Before she can say anything, he continues with a grin:

"As long as you keep your wine cellar well stocked. I'm not slumming it for you."

She can't help but bursting out laughing and hugging him to her. Trust Nikola to go from serious to facetious in seconds.

She feels him smile against her cheek as he rolls them over. She straightens up, sitting on top of him. He rocks his hips under her and smiles wickedly. She returns the smile and slowly starts to unbutton his shirt.

So much can happen in a year but that hardly matters at this very minute.


End file.
